


Exposure Therapy

by resolutioninclockwork



Series: The Playlist [6]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Acrophobia, Darcy is horny and confused but still game, Exhibitionism, F/M, Fear Play, Flying Sex, They are both very bad at this, This is not the best plan, Tony's genuinely trying to do a good thing, Under-negotiated Kink
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-26
Updated: 2020-04-27
Packaged: 2021-03-02 10:28:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23849695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/resolutioninclockwork/pseuds/resolutioninclockwork
Summary: A life like hers required fear management.Darcy believed she had a pretty decent grasp on her fear response, at least in general. Her daily routine required close proximity to potential wormholes, a mild-mannered scientist with rage issues, and Tony Stark’s tenuous-at-best grasp of lab safety protocols.She was never going to be entirely fearless, but she mostly had it under control.***Darcy has a fear of heights. Tony...helps?Oh god, this is such a bad idea.
Relationships: Darcy Lewis/Tony Stark
Series: The Playlist [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/809280
Comments: 5
Kudos: 54





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I really wanted to delve into some fear play without the violence, so this is where it went. I'm so sorry not sorry. Utterly unedited and unbeta'd to keep myself from chickening out before posting. Please let me know if you find any errors.
> 
> This is super hot, but HOLY CATS probably a really bad idea. Exposure therapy is not to be taken lightly. Do as I say, not as I write.
> 
> Darcy's acrophobia responses are basically what I experienced when I ended up on a bridge with a grated floor. Write what you know and turn it into smut, I guess? Makes for a much better story than "my partner had to pick me up and put me back on solid ground because my legs stopped working," I think. ;)
> 
> Soundtrack for this song: I Swallowed Hard, Like I Understood by 65daysofstatic  
> https://open.spotify.com/track/1UJHOmv93BDWbGRAhB4XuB?si=FeiiXIjZTkC00ynmZVfySw

A life like hers required fear management. 

Darcy believed she had a pretty decent grasp on her fear response, at least in general. Her daily routine required close proximity to potential wormholes, a mild-mannered scientist with rage issues, and Tony Stark’s tenuous-at-best grasp of lab safety protocols. 

She was never going to be entirely fearless, but she mostly had it under control. Mostly.

***

“Lewis, why don’t you ever sit at the table?” 

_Fuck. So much for a nice, quiet breakfast_. At the counter, of course - the table was just a smidge too close to those floor to ceiling windows for her comfort.

“The skyline looks like a picture in a frame from back here. I like it.” _Good save, Lewis. That’s almost believable._

“Bullshit. I don’t think I’ve seen you less than five feet from the windows up here. Ever. What gives?” She could feel his focus locking in - what had started as an offhanded comment in her direction had suddenly become _interesting_ to him. _Fuck. Unpredictable bastard._

“The stools are more comfortable?” _Fuuuuuuck_. He meandered over to the coffee machine, his manner much too casual for her comfort. Tony always moved with a purpose, until he wanted to pretend like he didn’t have one. He was also very intentionally not looking at her. That almost made it worse.

“They’re flat boards. Those chairs are padded. What, are you afraid of heights?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Don’t you have something to weld? Go away, old man.”

“There are always things to weld. This first, though.” He turned around to face her, leaning back against the counter and peering over the large mug of black coffee. His full attention was a tangible thing, weighty and intense, and she felt the pressure of it as he honed in on her. Tony Stark was almost always juggling multiple trains of thought, all of them running at a breakneck speed that outpaced nearly everyone around him. “How did I not know this about you? You live at the top of a freaking tower, Rapunzel. How are you afraid of heights?”

“I don’t know! It’s a phobia. You know - irrational fear? Though I can’t say it’s irrational to not want to fall out a window eighty-plus stories up. Why is this irrational again? It’s a perfectly normal fear, Tony. Go away.” _Fuuuuck_.

“Yeah. Alright. That’s not gonna work, Short Stack. You live in a tower with _us_ , Lewis. Gotta be functional if something happens.” He took a noisy sip from his mug, watching her so intently that she had to look down. “Fight, flight, or freeze?”

“Dammit, Tony. I’m gonna reorganize your toolbox. You’ll never find anything again.” She squirmed, nervously tapping her spoon against her cereal bowl as he moved closer.

“Do it. It’ll give DUM-E something to do.” He stepped up next to her, and his voice softened just slightly. “Fight, flight, or freeze, Lewis? I’m not kidding.” 

“I freeze up. I can get so far, and then I can’t move.” 

“C’mere.” He moved out of the kitchen and into the common area, apparently trusting that she’d just do as he said. Which, well, she did. _Fucking feet_. She followed him to a spot maybe ten feet away, where he turned them both towards the exterior wall.

_Not a wall. Window. Glass. Fragile._

“Tony, it’s fine. One less person to smudge the glass.” Her voice sounded hollow, too light to be genuine. He wasn’t having it. 

“Come on. It’ll be fun. We’re just gonna put this coffee on the table.” He motioned to the small table next to one of the plush chairs, sitting nearly flush with the window itself. Her skin prickled at the thought.

“You can reach it. Why do I need to do it?” 

“I’m gonna be right here, Lewis. C’mere.” His free hand gently pressed at her hip to guide her in front of him. Nervous tremors rolled through her gut as adrenaline trickled into her system. “We’re gonna fix it. Trust me.” He’d dropped his voice to barely more than a whisper, his breath a soft puff against her ear.

When she nodded her assent, his hand curled around her hip to urge her towards the wide expanse of glass in front of them. She took a hesitant step, then another, and felt the chill of a true adrenaline dump as it washed through her system. Step number three was as far as she got before the panic started to set in, muscles trembling and hands flexing at her sides as her feet stopped listening to her instructions.

“You’re doing great. Keep going, Darcy.” He so rarely used her first name, and the intimacy of it made her shiver in an entirely different way. When he gently brushed his fingers against her side, pinky just barely slipping under the hem of her shirt to burn against her bare skin, it was enough to jolt her body out of her frozen state. She stepped forward.

“Tony…”

“Good. See? It’s easy. Keep going.” He crowded against her back, close and hot and heady, but he didn’t actively push her forward. Instead, he took a sip of his coffee and continued to lightly circle his fingers against her side. She closed her eyes and focused on him, and took another step. 

“Open your eyes, Darcy. Watch what you’re doing. I’ve got you.” She shook her head slightly, a moment’s hesitation, then scrunched up her face and forced her eyes back open. The city sparkled before her in the morning light, bright and shiny and _too high too far down no no no_ \- 

When the vertigo hit, she grabbed at his hand and pulled so that his arm was wrapped more tightly around her. 

“Shhh. You’re fine. I’m right here. One more step, Darcy, and then I can put the coffee down.” She shivered as his voice washed over her. Gentle but unyielding, a warm thread cutting through the ice pooling in her limbs. It was just enough to tug her attention away from the rising panic.

“I don’t give a fuck about your coffee, Stark. Fuck.” She wanted to turn, to move, to stomp out of the room and call him names. She actually did none of it.

“I know, but you’re so close. One more step, Darcy. Trust me.” _Trust me, he says. Fucker_. 

“I can’t move, Tony. I can’t fucking move.” _Falling, spinning, weightless and too heavy -_ No. She gripped the hand at her waist with both of hers, desperate for something to ground her.

“I know. Do it anyways. I’ve got you.” He nudged her, very gently. “One more step.” His lips brushed at the shell of her ear, and she found herself nearly pressed against the glass. She’d moved, she’d felt the tug of his hand on her as she stepped forward, but she hadn’t told her legs to do it. 

“Good.” He leaned over to put the mug on the table, and the brief lack of his body heat against her back made her whimper. He was back in an instant, his newly freed hand moving to hers at her waist. “See? You’re fine. It’s a beautiful day, and you’re not falling.” 

“Fuck you, Stark.” The insult held no heat, especially as she tried to urge his arms more tightly around her.

“Touchy.” He was having none of that, though. He tugged at her hands, slowly pulling them away from her middle and guiding them to the glass. “Feel it, Darcy. It’s solid. Strong. You won’t fall out.”

She whimpered audibly but didn’t resist, letting him press her palms to the window. She was in a tailspin, head swimming and pulse racing, but the feel of his hands covering hers felt like a lifeline. 

“I’ve got you, Darcy. Trust me.”

“I trust you, Tony.” 

His breath shuddered against her ear, and he pulled her hands back to rest at her hips. Slowly, oh so slowly, he guided her step by step backwards, and she relaxed more with every inch of distance. 

“Tony…” The sight of her palm prints against the glass made her shiver.

His hands disappeared from her hips, and in an instant he was gone. She managed to make it to the couch before her legs gave out, but her eyes remained locked on those palm prints until Clint came stumbling out in search of his own breakfast.

***

That night, she dreamed of falling. Instead of jerking awake just before she hit the ground as usual, she felt warm hands curl around her and a soft voice in her ear. 

“I’ve got you. Trust me.”

She woke up desperately wet and horribly confused.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning found her standing near the window, forcing herself to slowly eat an apple as she toed the invisible line that tripped her panic. She leaned into it a bit, testing, and found her body humming with a different kind of adrenaline rush.

She felt his attention well before she heard him enter the room.

“You’re afraid too.” She hadn’t meant to speak, or at least not to say that.

“Of course I am. We can’t know what will hit us next. You can’t freeze up if something happens.” He moved behind her, closer than the day before - so close, this time, that she could feel the metal edges of his arc reactor pressing against her back.

“No, I guess I can’t.” She leaned back against him, looking out the window for several beats, then down at the apple in her hand. She could feel when his gaze followed hers, and the air shifted. 

“I’ve got you, Darcy.” His hands skimmed up her sides, stroking gently upwards and then back down to settle on her hips. She wanted to rock back against him, to see if he felt the change in tension, but she didn’t want to break it either. Instead, she took a breath and stepped forward. 

It didn’t take as long this time, and she didn’t close her eyes. Hell, she was something close to calm all the way up until she reached the glass - and she couldn’t move to put the apple on the table. Leaning over felt too much like leaning forward, and her limbs stopped responding at the thought.

He was right there, behind her and around her, taking the apple out of her hand before she could say anything. It was a relief, and she smirked when she heard the crunch at her shoulder.

“Eating my breakfast now?”

“Call it payment for services rendered. One more bite.” He held the apple up next to her face, making her turn her head slightly. He teased her with it, encouraging her to lean when she couldn’t before. His other hand never left her hip, though, and it was enough to let her chase him just a little. 

“Come on, Tony. Don’t tease.” She could feel him smirking behind her as he gave in, pressing the fruit closer to her mouth. 

The low, hungry noise he made when she bit down went straight to her gut. That was powerful enough to shake her free - well, free enough to rock her hips back against him. 

“You’re killing me here.” He tossed the apple aside and reached for her hands, gripping them both and moving them to the glass just like the day before. 

“You started it.” She rocked back again and oh. He was hard and straining against his jeans, and she suddenly felt dizzy for an entirely different reason.

“Entirely my fault. Are you gonna hold it against me?” He nuzzled into her neck, pressing the length of his body against her. It was enough to nudge her up against the glass, and the shift made her gasp. 

“Tony -”

“I’ve got you, Darcy. Trust me.” His lips brushed against her ear, feather light and soft. “Watch the city wake up.”

All she could do was nod and turn back, eyes scanning the cityscape without really seeing much of anything. He pressed his hands against hers again in silent instruction.

And then he was moving, fingers dragging down her arms, skimming across her shoulders and down her sides to her hips. 

“Can I touch you, Darcy?” She’d swear she felt the question instead of hearing it, and keened softly in response.

“I need words, Lewis. Tell me.”

“Fucking hell, Tony. Yes please.” 

His hand slid lower, fingers tracing at the waist of her jeans for a moment before dipping beneath the fabric -

“Sir, Dr. Banner is on his way up from the lab to speak with you.” JARVIS sounded almost apologetic as he spoke up. Tony’s hand froze, and she groaned deeply.

“Come see me tonight.” He nipped at her earlobe, voice heavy and hungry. 

“Yeah. That. Okay. Mmm hmm. Yep.”

“J, tell Banner I’ll meet him by the elevator. We can talk upstairs.” He pulled her back as he stepped away, voice steady as he turned her to face him. She could still see the heat in his eyes, and the slight shift in his step as he adjusted himself. “And make sure to block out my evening. I’ll be unavailable.”

“Of course, sir.” 

He backed out of the room, leaving her dazed yet again. 

***

That night, he fucked her against his own window. Lights off and bent over, her hands pressed to the glass, watching the lights of the city twinkle below them - disrupted only by the shadowed reflection of his face and the blue glow from his chest. 

“Trust me, Lewis. I’ve got you.”

The next night, he took her to a little used balcony. At first, he bent her over the railing - letting her actually look down over the side of the building as his tongue and fingers worked her over. Then, while her legs were still shaky from her first orgasm, he flipped her around and set her on the railing itself. She locked her arms and legs around him, clinging desperately as he rocked into her and whispered reassurances into her mouth until she came apart again.

“That’s it. I’ve got you. It’s okay.”

They made a list of places - balconies, bridges, roofs, it didn’t matter so long as it was high - and he methodically worked her over at each one. She stopped hesitating when he was with her, her body quickly picking up on the routine. There was just one problem. She still couldn’t handle it on her own. 

When he showed up one day with a small box and the suit, she realized that they weren’t quite done pushing yet.


End file.
